Prof. Dr . Necmettin Erbakan was born on October 29, 1926 in Sinop as the son of Mehmet Sabri, the Deputy Judge of Sinop, and Mrs.Kamer. His father, Mehmet Sabri, was a descendant of the Kozanoğulları of the Seljuk Turks who ruled for a long time in the Kozan and Saimbeyli regions of Adana; his mother was one of the prominent families of Sinop. Erbakan, who started primary school in Kayseri, completed his primary school education in Trabzon after his father’s designation. In 1943, he graduated from Istanbul Erkek Lisesi with first place. Although he gained the right to enter the university without exams, he preferred to take the exam and started his university education from the second grade by passing this exam with excellent success.
Erbakan graduated from ITU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with outstanding success in the summer semester of 1948 and started working as an assistant at the Department of Engines of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering on July 1 of the same year. Between 1948 and 1951, he prepared his decalogue thesis. Although only associated professors and professors were authorized to teach in this process, he started to teach at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering while he was still an assistant after a special permit was issued to him. ITU sent Erbakan to Germany in 1951 to conduct scientific research at Aachen Technical University and to improve his knowledge and experience. During his time in Germany, he conducted studies together with Professor Schimit at the DVL research center, which conducted research for the German army, and earned the right to use the title of Doctor in German universities with his doctoral dissertation, which he prepared.,
Associate professor’s thesis, which mathematically explains how the fuel sprayed in diesel engines ignited, written by Erbakan, who conducted research on the use of less fuel in engines for the German Ministry of Economy and submitted a report to the relevant ministry on this issue, was written during this period, had attracted great attention in German scientific circles.
After the thesis was published in academic journals, by the general manager of the DEUTZ engine factories, which was the largest engine factory in Germany at that time, Prof. Dr . Flats he was invited to this factory to conduct research on the engines of Leopard tanks. Erbakan, the first Turkish scientist at German universities after the Second World War returned to Turkey to take the associate professor exam in 1953 and successfully passed this exam, became the youngest associate professor in Turkey at the age of 27. Erbakan, who went to Germany again to conduct research, served as the chief engineer of engine research for about 6 months there. Between 1954 and 1955, he performed his military service.
In 1956, by establishing the Gümüş Motor A.Ş., he produced the first local engine of Turkey . Erbakan presented the production of Gümüş Motor at the Industrial Congress held in Ankara in 1960 and stated the idea of automobile construction in Turkey and produced the first local automobile with the name of ”Revolutionary Automobile” in the Eskişehir Railways CER workshop after this idea was popularized by the management of that time. He became a professor in 1965. He married Nermin Erbakan in 1967 and elected as the General Secretary of Türkiye Odalar ve Borsalar Birliği(TOBB).
He was elected to the presidency of TOBB in 1969, had to leave the presidency due to the cancellation of the elections by the government. In the same year, he entered politics by being elected as an independent deputy by getting enough votes to remove 3 deputies from Konya.retary of the Union of Türkiye Odalar ve Borsalar Birliği(TOBB) . On January 17, 1970, he founded the Milli Nizam Partisi (MNP). When the MNP was shut down by the Constitutional Court during the 1971 coup, Erbakan founded the Milli Savunma Partisi (MSP) with the same staff in 1972 and entered parliament with 48 deputies and 3 senators with 12% of the vote in the 1973 elections. After the 1973 elections, the CHP led by Bülent Ecevit and the MSP became the government partner, and Erbakan served as minister of state and deputy prime minister in this government.
November 17, 1974, the CHP-MSP coalition government was dissolved as a result of the fact that Erbakan, who advocated the Cyprus Operation, insisted on the decommissioning of the entire island after the operation, there was a difference of opinion between Erbakan and Bülent Ecevit. Erbakan, who again served as deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Economic Council in the quadrilateral coalition formed after the breakdown of the CHP-MSP coalition and continued the same task in the tripartite coalition formed after the elections of June 5, 1977. On September 12, he was detained in Uzunada/Izmir for a while with the seizure of the administration by the soldiers. In accordance with the 1982 constitution, he was banned from politics for ten years. In September 6, 1987 as a result of the popular vote, he returned to politics and was unanimously appointed the leader of Refah Partisi, which was founded in 1983, at the congress held on October 11, 1987. He was re-elected as a deputy from Konya in the elections of October 20, 1991. Erbakan showed the greatest electoral success in his political life in the 1995 elections, in which he entered as the head of Refah Partisi. Refah Partisi, which received 21.37% of the vote in these elections, with 158 deputies became the firsthand party. After these elections, he took office as prime minister on June 28, 1996 in the Refahyol Hükümeti which he established with the DYP. His prime ministerial term between 1996-1997 ended with the period of February 28 and the process named post-modern intervention. Erbakan, who was banned from politics for five years with the closure of Refah Partisi in 1998, was elected Chairman of the SaadetPartisi, which was founded under the presidency of Recai Kutan, after the end of this ban in 2003. October 17, 2010, he returned to this post, which he decamped for a while after 2004.
With the progression of his age, his health condition gradually worsened, Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan passed away on February 27, 2011 due to heart failure in the hospital where he was being treated. Erbakan, who left his mark in Turkish academic life with his scientific studies and national line of sight in the world of politics, was the father of 3 children.
The great statesman and litigator who was instrumental in the establishment of the Anatolian Lions Businessmen’s Association (ASKON),we commemorate the late Prof.Dr.Necmettin Erbakan with mercy, gratitude and respect.
